Creating Marketing Emails That Survive the “5-Second Test”

Stop for a moment and think about all the emails you've received today. How many of them did you actually read? How many did you delete without so much as a second glance?

For most of us, the majority of the messages we receive go straight into the trash, even when we have opted in for the messages. That isn't because we don't care at all about the topics, but because we only have so much time to burn each day. If we were to read every email thoroughly, we'd never get through the rest of our work. According to research by The Radicati Group, the average corporate email account receives about eighty-four messages per day. Depending on your industry, this number may be significantly higher. That’s a lot of noise to cut through.

And so, it's not surprising that the same thing happens when you send an email newsletter to your subscribers. If you don't grab their attention within the first few seconds of opening the email, the rest of your message won't ever matter because it won’t ever be read.

Here are a few things you can do to make it through the 5-second preview and get subscribers to read your newsletters every time:

Use a subject line that conveys urgency.

Your goal should be to have an email message that your subscriber wouldn't dream of waiting until later to read. You obviously don't want to go too far and be so over the top that subscribers ignore your messages, but grabbing attention from the start is critical.

Avoid spam triggers & keywords that negatively impact open rates.

Some words automatically trigger spam filters. Here are a few examples: free (combined with anything), wife, lose, order today, don’t hesitate. Read this post by Hubspot for a comprehensive list of spam triggers.

Keep the graphics to a minimum.

When you have too many graphics in your email newsletter, they can take a moment to load and obscure your actual message. Since you want people to read, not squint, keep the stock photos, logos, and loud colors to a minimum.

Lead with an interesting article.

Very few people are going to take time out of their day to read an overt sales pitch, so offer them something with a few timely tips or some easy-to-follow advice (like there is in this article). Then, you can use their interest to convince them to take the next step.

Don’t say too much.

If the point of your email is to drive visitors to your website, don’t reveal too much. Instead give the reader snackable, compelling content that entices them to read on.

With these five elements in place, you should have everything you need to get subscribers reading. Then, after you've hooked them with a bit of interesting information, be sure to follow up with a clear, simple call to action that makes it easy for them to take the next step.

Nothing great can come from your email marketing campaign until you have a subscriber’s attention first. Remember that, and always strive to send messages that can stand up to a 5-second preview.